HOA Nut House

Hello.

This is my first time here-- I hope I'm in the right place.

I'm president of the HOA board in a new urban condo building (230+ units, first occupants 12/06). Only about 60% of the units are occupied. We have a rec room with big tv, pool table, tables, chairs, etc. and also a large open terrace with 2 big barbecues and seating for probably 50 divided into nicely separated areas. We are trying to devise a fair policy for reservations for use of these areas that allows a resident to plan a gathering and be able to count on having the space available, but not unfairly restrict use by others. Our CCRs (boilerplate mostly provided by the developer) aren't specific or helpful. It's likely that there will be a large % of renters for some time given the large number of available condos in this area.

I would much appreciate any experiences, guidance, suggestions as to how to construct a fair policy. For example, the rec room would be good for, say, an office party, but isn't big enough to accommodate two 15-20 person groups at once. The terrace is big, but if space wasn't reserved, you could show up with people ready for a barbecue and find the space taken.

How have other HOAs managed policies regarding reserved/ scheduled use of common areas? We are talking about reserved use with fees and security deposits, but the concern is that "common" areas not be unavailable to those who have rights within the building.

Thanks for any ideas.

juana39